Lead time: Lead time is the time between a buyer placing an order and the parts being ready to ship or delivered, including queueing, production, finishing and inspection.
Lead time is what the buyer cares about after the price, and often before it. It is rarely just the hours a machine runs. A typical lead time adds up the queue before the job starts, the production time, post-processing such as support removal or finishing, inspection, and packing.
Example: a batch of resin parts prints in 6 hours, but the printer is booked for the next 2 days, the parts need washing, curing and support removal, and the courier collects once a day. The honest lead time is about 4 working days, not 6 hours.
Many shops offer more than one lead time at different prices. The standard option uses the normal queue; a faster option jumps it and carries an expedite fee. An economy option can be cheaper because it lets you fill quiet periods.
The usual confusion is between lead time and shipping time. A quote that says “5 days” should say whether that is to dispatch or to the buyer’s door. Another is quoting lead times that ignore the current workload, which is where capacity planning comes in.
For how to price faster and slower options, read lead time pricing.
Go deeper: Lead-time pricing: how to price rush and economy orders